Insulated rail joint



May 11, 1948. R. w. PAYNE INSULATED RAIL JOINT Filed March 26, 1946 Patentecl May 11, 1948 NITED .3 Claims. 1

'This"tinvention-relates to insulated-rail joints, 1arid "has:particularreferenceto improvements in 'insulatedWailf'joints-of the" type inwhich head and base'pieces' of"insulation are interposed between "*endsplice -barsand" the end portions of the railsandin which the head-pieces of insu- "lation are covered by -protective metalshield Fpieces, -all as generally disposed in my prior "patent, Nofi 2y0l6'j2liof October 1, 1935.

(Cl-c238-s-159) 2 invention is --toproy-i'de" an insulated rail --joint of the type'reierred to' 'inwhich-* the headjpieces of insulation and-their covering -metal-"shlel'd pieces areinterchangeableenable the liie of 5 ithejoint to-"beconsiderably prolongd.

. z m c jOint -of"the t referred 'to 1, type areferred.v to embodying the riovel. features ere im-extensiveuse; and in such joints the head pieces bfinsulaLtiOn "and their covering, protec- =tive,*metal' shieldpieces extend to the extreme "'endsbfthe'splice bars toaiiord desirable loadi ng'cooperation between the splice bars and the-- rails eisfi'eir out"as the-extreme ends of the joints. Thisfhowever, 'exposes the -outer portions of the ends of the metal shield pieces to damaging blows by dragging brake rigging and other equipment, withthe result that the ends of the shield pieces may sometimes be bent down- -:wardly: and :forceds-through Lethe insulating head pieces into contact with the "isplice bars, thereby producing short circuits. causing. serious signal troubles.

Accordingly, one specialJarid important-object iofi ithe .present invention is" to provide an in- :s'ulated .rail'; joints ofvthe type "referred to in which at least the outer portions of the metal .of. construction, combination and arrangement :of parts: as will be hereinafter more fully described, illustrated: inar-theaccompanying drawings and defined in the .appenxiedlclaims.

2.111 the accompanying drawings, whereinr'like :oharacters roif xreference i denote nc'orresponding :parts in .the 'difierent -.views zrFig-ure 1. is. i as Lside elevation often: insulated :railrjointeembodying the features :of sthe-iinve'ntion'.

shield pieces terminate at their ends short of the portions R, Randtheabaseiiof zthe spliceizbariB ends of the splice bars, whereby they are protected by the ends of the splice bars against receiving damaging blows and being bent or deflected into contact with the splice bars by dragging brake rigging or other equipment.

It is desirable that the splice bars have loading cooperation as far out as their extreme ends with the rails. Consequently, it is desirable that the portions of the head pieces of insulation and the metal shield pieces through which the splice bars take loading engagement with the rails, extend to the extreme ends of the splice bars to afford such loading cooperation. Accordingly, another special and important object of the present invention is to provide an insulated rail joint of the type referred to in which the outer portions of the metal shield pieces terminate short of the ends of the splice bars, and in which the portions of said pieces through which the splice bars have loading cooperation with the rails, extend to the ends of the splice bars to afiord desirable loading cooperation between the rails and the splice bars as far outwardly as the ends of the latter.

Another special and important object of the are base pieces of insulation l0, while engaged over the top of the splice bar B are head pieces of insulation ll of inverted U-shape in cross section which are covered and protected by metal shield pieces [2, likewise of inverted U-shape least the portions of the metal shield pieces l2 which are disposed outwardly of the portions thereof through which the splice bar takes loading cooperation with the rail end portions R, R, do not extend to the ends of the splice bar B, but

terminate suitable distances short of the ends thereof, as indicated at l3. Therefore, the outer, exposed portions of said shield pieces are protected at their ends by the ends of the splice bar against receiving damaging blows by dragging brake rigging or other equipment, since such dragging equipment will strike one end or the other of the splice bar, depending upon the direction of train movement, and thereby will be deflected over or from the ends of the exposed outer portions of said shield pieces. Conse- The portions of the insulating head pieces H which are disposed outwardly of the portions thereof through which the splice bar takes loading cooperation with the rails may extend to the ends of the splice bar or, like the corresponding portions of the metal shield pieces I2, may terminate short of the ends of the splice bar, as desired.

The portions of the insulating head pieces H and of their covering shield pieces l2 through i which the splice bar takes loading cooperation with the rails may also terminate short of the ends of the splice bar B. Preferably, however, these portions extend to the extreme ends of the splice bar to afford desirable loading cooperation between the rails and the splice bar as far outward as the extreme ends of the latter.

The drawings illustrate the invention as being embodied in a rail joint of the standard type in which the splice B has head loading cooperation with the under sides of the heads of the rails. It is to be understood, however, that this merely is by way of example and that the joint may be of the headfree or any other type. Likewise, it is to be understood that the rails as well as the splice bars may be of any types other than the particular types shown.

A feature of the invention is that the head pieces of insulation H and their covering shield pieces l2 are of duplicate construction at their ends whereby they are interchangeable to compensate for wear as well as for repair purposes, thus materially to increase the life of the joint.

From the foregoing description considered in connection with the accompanying drawings it a is believed that the construction and operation of the present protector will be clearly understood and its advantages appreciated. It is desired to point out however, that while only a single specific embodiment of the invention has been illustrated and described, the same is readily susceptible to various modifications within the scope of the appended claims.

I claimi 1. An insulated rail joint comprising the rails, the splice bar, and head pieces of insulation and covering metal shield pieces of inverted U-shape in cross section engaged over the top of the splice bar and including inner portions interposed between the head of the splice bar and the rails through which the splice bar has head loading cooperation with the rails, said inner portions of said insulating and said shield pieces extending as far outwardly as the ends of the splice bar, the portions of said shield pieces which are disposed outwardly of said inner loading portions thereof terminating at their outer ends short of the ends of the splice bar.

2. An insulated rail joint as set forth in claim 1 in which the insulating head pieces and their covering shield pieces are of duplicate construction at their ends whereby they are interchangeable.

3. An insulated rail joint, comprising the rails, the splice bar, and head pieces of insulation and covering metal shield pieces of inverted U-shape in cross section engaged over the top of the splice bar and including inner portions interposed between the head of the splice bar and the rails andthrough which the rails have loading cooperation with the splice bar, the outer ends of the said inner portions of said insulating and said shield pieces being disposed as far outwardly as the ends of the splice bar, the outer portions of said metal shield pieces having their outer ends terminating short of the outer ends of the splice bar; and the outer portions of said insulating pieces having their outer ends extending beyond the outer ends of the outer portions of said metal shield pieces.

RALPH W. PAYNE.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS 1 

